Vertical spindle balancing machine



Dec 3l, 1957 F. R. BoKoRNl-:Y 2,817,972

VERTICAL SPINDLE BALANCING MACHINE Filed June 22. 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet l FIG. i.

INVENToR. FRED .2. Ba/ramvc'r Dec. 31,1957 2,817,972

F. R. BOKORNEY VERTICAL SPINDLE BALANCING MACHINE 3- Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 22. 1956 'Img Il W- z u m -1 INVENTOR. Fein/ @elfde/My BY "s l. I .l TTOENEX.

Dec. 31,` 195.7 F. R. BoKoRNl-:Y

VERTICAL SPINDLE BALANCING lvfm'mnui:

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 22, 1956 INVENTOR. Fzsa E Bowden/Er Trae/VE);

nited States Paten-r 'VERTICAU SPINDL'E BAHANGINGA ill/'ICHINEv Fred R. Bokorney,Westchester, Ill.

Application Jilne'22", 1956;SrialN': 593,288' 3.iaims.t (Cflg 7324-471):

2,817,972 Patented. Dec. 31, ,l 195.7

ice

presentinventiontare such.l as willbe revealedduring the course of thel following detailed description, havingpparticular reference to the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts 5 throughout, and'in which:

Thefpresent inventiony reltesgenerally"to^ba1ancing 15V als takenalongnljum34.3,of.Figtkgmami,

machines ndi'concerns-itselfinoreparticularlywith"appa ra'tusz oft-"this 'class whereinthef'fprincip'al'-work'spidl is disposedfina verticaldirection;

In th'ef-testingg offcertainf classes of 'manufacturedpie- Fig. 4 is` another fragmentary sectionalfviewonan enlargedscale..takentalongline.4f-4 of Fig. 2.

In =th`e. accornpanyi'rlgy dawin gs, .the -reference numeral 11 pointsitoga. sheet ab'ricatedQSidefframe base member smallV or essentially inferiorto" its dimetricJ one; itl isexpeditious to' utilize verticahaxis'rotationl for reasons of greater facilityv` inl :applying and; removalt from;` the test machine;V as welles-for.' reasons' of.' greater` scope for of my copendingrapplication Ser. No.350,01l, tiled .April 21;.1953., new PatentNo. 2,743,074. Two ,such .memberstareereqnired-,z ,one for eachA yside frame, ,and-.welded ontothc-top,channe1.componentlZ, Fig.; 2, of eachista observation'and'accessrwhile'makingonatheftest-machine 25,-stanchi0np1ate?13,- Theopposedbasemembers 11. are

corrections: Squatclasses" of" pieceparts, particularly, when 'also 'ofthe'more'massive typesLmay be considered as-tl`1`ougl1VA existing"in"a. single.. plane, Lwherefor test Loperations^mayb'e-of the static ratherthan'dynamic nature andi consequently` correction, whenrequir'ed, may be effected without* regard i* toA axial relationship. and; solely on the basis of circumference.

Tlieftest machineoperator may" b'eseated .before his verticahspindl apparatus, with the worklstackedbrloadd irrtoteboxeswoming ltoward lhim at'one side, and`his drill spindle. or other correctiondevic'e.situatedg'at hisa others side: Themagnitude of anyI eccentriciti'es may be ob'servedonatlie d electricallyy responsive indicatorson top ofitlie test machine, and the `angular, location thereof ,by

integrated l.together by.. means Yof .the four. transverse .inverted'channebl beams14, 15, .16..and..17, of..which -the rst..mentioned ,two. servev the .purposeof .supporting the electric .motor. drive-.unit 1:18. InI corresponding.; manner,

f the, stanchioni .plates ,z 13: are. tied.. togetherv by, meanstof transversely.` disposed. -.bars ,19. andV 21, and. .thesevelements serve the additional; purpose of. mounting.. the..r spindle journalA ,carriage122,w as .will :bemore y fully, disclosed .-later, together.. with:l its...vibrationwpicksup -and,.attendant -.com

ponentsa Brom Fig..1 it-.may beseen howsthewithin.contained mechanism? of.. the balancing machine.. is s fully shrouded by f means of sh eet rmetalY :cox/en. panelsf. whichfa .frigid one.:y 23. extends fromv the.-A forward hinge.A alignment. 24

an? an'gulrlrly`r markedplate or disc which'rotates withf. theel work.l Itis therefore of utmost vimportancetohglnproduction rate in" the.. performanceV ofsuch" test. operations to^acl1ieve maximum accessibilityto the'work at,.a...low level; as well as to be able taVOidTfatigue.ofltheoperator on'v accountI of lportag?, ybody or long\.,arm.mov.ements, or*excessiveconcentration to avoidhazards.

Accordingly, a prime `objectoftl'ie invention. -isLy topro vid alow level fully shrouded vertical spindle .balance testing machine which. will'.undergo. long;,periods. ofltest operatinfllbwing Pthe setting up adjustments. necessary t to accommodate particular- .workpicce requirements...

Another obictof "the' invention is to provide suchf.a machine which presents its work supporting spindle at low well..forwand l.positions ,unencumberedlbya hazardous or moving partswithin range of the. operators sphere of. activity during 'performance of'testing `operations or correctionzloperations, while ,yet .makingtsavailabl tto, hinaain afaseatednposition.infront of the. yspindle easyracces'sto controlE- overl the-test.machine,l.its visual indicators, and 60 most of all, total circumferential accessito the borne workpiece.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a balance testing machine of the class described, in which the work spindle itself is of minimum length, thereby making it increasingly responsive to unbalance vibrations of even low magnitudes, and in which the spindle journal and carriage are suspended from unidirectional fiat steel springs in seismic mount fashion, and in which, notwithstanding full depth springs for greater flexibility, spindle shaft length is thereby not increased.

The foregoing and other objects and purposes of the wardlyr to xform.- altopfapron 26 for. the rear walk-,compositionh At.27 there is-\hinge.d .-tozthe apromzfavswingable rear wall cover panel 28,whichmaybetopened-.when it is. `desired .to. gainyaccess toy fthefmotorffunit or fother apparatus- L thereat.: disposed. The .bottom 'edgvet `of.. cover 5 32, may be swung downwardly about its hinger.:l'met36 to arlimitedxtfentn. Finally, tixedzpanel- 3.7 `rwhich `isldisposed iniI a': verticale planefonmslk a-ipr'otectivel: shiel-djto preventtthetoperatorffrom inadvertently-cominginto;conilict withtli'eapparatus. looatedinnthel-base regions-of .the machine.; Thenreeessionrtoipanels fand 37 afford-.knee room whereby the test machine operator may sit well into the front end with his arms and head close to the work for visual and manipulative facility. This not only reduces the likelihood of error but diminishes fatigue and allows more work to be done in a given time period.

vertical wall 45 thereof is a mount fixture 46 which carries the vertical shaft 47 from which is swung a short support arm 48. The support arm 48 in turn carries a cylindncal bar member 49 which extends in the general direction of the spindle 51 and at its extremity is fastened a clamp arm 52.

The bar member 49 is free to pivot about shaft 47 as a center but because restrained by `a turnbuckle 53 whose opposite eyebolt ends 54 and 55 link with similar elements S6 in the arm 52 and 57 in the angle bracket 58, there results the stabilization of arm 52 in a region which may be precisely located by adjustment of turnbuckle 53 and clamp arms 48 and 52 to dispose the pvot bearing ex tremity of arm 52 at the right position to align idler pulleys 59 and 61 with driven pulley 62 secured to shaft 51. From Fig. 2 it may be seen that idlers 59 and 61 are carried on the ends of a space bar 63 whose center is pivoted at the end of arm 52, and that in this way there is achieved a free floating take-up for the slack in belt 64 that threads around drive pulley 41, over the idlers and around driven pulley 62. When the belt becomes stretched, slack may be taken up incrementally by simply resetting the turnbuckle.

From Figs. 3 and 4 it will be clear that the transversely extending support bars 19 and 21, which are parallel and accurately level with each other, lie just beneath the forward shroud panel 32. From the extreme sides of the two bars, designated 66 and 67 in Fig. 4, there hang aligned pairs of flexible steel springs 68 and 69. The ends of the springs are made fast by means of bolt blocks 71 and 72, the former being bolted to the transverse bars 19 and 21 while the latter are bolted to companion blocks 73 as well as to downwardly extending flanges 74 of a bridge beam 75, reinforced by side bracing elements 76.

This bridge beam 75 constitutes the primary frame to which the carriage 22 is secured as at 77 by means of bolts. Because the flat steel springs 68 and 69 all lie in parallel planes they permit the bridge 75 to sway in side to side manner from center as shown in Fig. 4, but not to do so in the same sense as viewed in Fig. 3. This motion which may be induced by out-of-balance conditions in a piecepart carried by and rotated with shaft 51, will produce reciprocal motion up and down as viewed in Fig. l. Since shaft S1 is rotated by pulley 62, keyed as at 79 thereto, such motion or vibration will have little if any effect upon the belt drive 64 because its direction is perpendicular to the belt sections which extend from idlers 59 and 61. Moreover, this section of belt comes toward the driven pulley in flights which are parallel to and under the bridge 75 and its flanges 74.

Thus, while the pendulous support springs 68 and 69 are relatively long, the shaft assembly now to be described, is appreciably shorter and therefore freer from effects of mass and torque. What has been designated as the carriage 22 consists essentially of a sleeve or casing within which are fitted at opposite ends the -ball races 81 and 82, and within them, the grease retainers 83. The shaft 51 is provided with a flange portion 84 to which is secured a disc 85, bearing radial markings from which the operator may note during the strobe flashes the angular location of the out-of-balance condition that causes the vibration.

At 86 there is bolted to the bridge 75 an arm 87, the remote end of which is fastened to a thrust rod 88 which is connected to the generating coil of a pick-up unit, such as disclosed in my application Ser. No. 354,072. The vibrations are in this way transmitted to the pick-up which induces voltage manifestations upon dial instruments located on the facing surface of cabinet 89, to be observed by the operator. The piece parts are secured to suitable adaptors borne on the uppermost end of shaft and anchored by means of the threaded holes 91.

While the invention has been explained and described by referring to a specific embodiment, it is to be understood that no limitation is thereby intended, `except as indicated in the hereunto appended claims.

What I consider to be new and for which I desire issuance of Letters Patent is:

1. In a balancing machine, a pair of side frames, a plurality of beam elements connecting said side frames, two of said elements being located at the foremost part of said machine and parallel with each other, a vertical worltspindle, a journal carriage for supporting said workspindle, a bridge beam for supporting said carriage comprising an upper level floor panel and opposed downwardly extending end flanges, flat steel springs disposed in parallel planes having their upper ends bolted to said two forward beam elements and their lower ends bolted to said end flanges,\a driven pulley carried by said workspindle at its lowermost extremity and between said end flanges, and a power transmission system comprising va vertical shaft prime mover disposed upon rearward ones of said beam elements and having a driving pulley at the level of said driven pulley, a pair of idler pulleys also disposed at said level and carried on a floating spacer bar at one side of said machine transversely parallel with said driven pulley, and an arm carrying said spacer bar pivotable through an arc substantially tangential with a median line between said forward two beam elements whereby slack take-up adjustment in a power transmission belt passing around said pulleys may be made by moving said arm through its said arc.

2. The combination set forth in claim l including a turnbuckle adjustment having one end connected to said arm and its other end connected to a stationary anchor in said machine.

3. In a vertical spindle balancing machine, a pair of transverse parallel rails, a rectangular bridge beam comprising a horizontal platform and downwardly extending end flanges affording a nethermost clearance beneath said platform and between said end flanges, a journal carriage mounted on said platform, a workspindle journaled in said carriage having its upper end extending above and between said parallel rails and its lower end extending between said end flanges, a driven pulley mounted on the lower end of said workspindle, and a power transmission system for rotating said workspindle which comprises a driving pulley located to the rear of said rails, a

`pair of idler pulleys movable through a course substantially parallel with said rails, and an endless belt trained around said driving and driven pulleys and passing around said idler pulleys with flights between said idler pulleys and said driven pulley passing parallelly between said rails.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,327,609 Saltz Aug. 24, 1943 2,382,843 Aunis Aug. 14, 1945 2,724,971 Kroft et al Nov. 29, 1955 

